HR 1585 which is the 2008 Defense Authorization Bill is an evil piece of legislation that actually gives authorization to the U.S. military to plan a future merger with the police that will be used during a catastrophic emergency. This bill authorizes the Department of Defense to design a plan for a martial law apparatus. There is no question that the U.S. government is seeking to ratchet up the militarized police state as they anticipate massive resistance to the coming collapse of our economy and war with Iran. This bill is yet another step in the direction for the implementation of a militarized police state in this country.

Section 1615 of the bill describes the determination of department of defense civil support requirements. Subsection (a) states the following regarding the determination of requirements.

SEC. 1615. DETERMINATION OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE CIVIL SUPPORT REQUIREMENTS.

(a) Determination of Requirements - The Secretary of Defense shall determine the military-unique capabilities needed to be provided by the Department of Defense to support civil authorities in an incident of national significance or a catastrophic incident.

So in other words, the Secretary of Defense is going to determine what military capabilities will be provided to support civil authorities during a catastrophic emergency. If the military is providing support to civil authorities, that is essentially describing an unholy marriage of police and the military. In no uncertain terms, this bill authorizes the Department of Defense to draw up plans for martial law which will be enforced through a combination of the military and the police.

In addition, the Secretary of Defense is to develop a plan that will sustain this martial law apparatus for five years as shown below in section (b).

(b) Plan for Funding Capabilities-

(1) PLAN- The Secretary of Defense shall develop and implement a plan, in coordination with the Secretaries of the military departments and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, for providing the funds and resources necessary to develop and maintain the following:

(A) The military-unique capabilities determined under subsection (a).

(B) Any additional capabilities determined by the Secretary to be necessary to support the use of the active components and the reserve components of the armed forces for homeland defense missions, domestic emergency responses, and providing military support to civil authorities.

(2) TERM OF PLAN- The plan required under paragraph (1) shall cover at least five years.

Section 1621 of the bill describes how they intend to increase the number of people in USNORTHCOM. Below is the appropriate subsection in which the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will submit a review of civilian and military positions within USNORTHCOM with the goal of increasing the number of reservists and civilians employed by USNORTHCOM. Clearly, they are anticipating massive civil unrest in this country if they intend on increasing the manpower available to USNORTHCOM.

(a) Manpower Review-

(1) REVIEW BY CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF- Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff shall submit to the Secretary of Defense a review of the civilian and military positions, job descriptions, and assignments within the United States Northern Command with the goal of significantly increasing the number of members of a reserve component assigned to, and civilians employed by, the United States Northern Command who have experience in the planning, training, and employment of forces for homeland defense missions, domestic emergency response, and providing military support to civil authorities.

It gets better. Section 1622 of the bill establishes a Council of Governors that will advise the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Homeland Security and the White House on how they intend to integrate the National Guard into this martial law apparatus. The section is shown below.

SEC. 1622. COUNCIL OF GOVERNORS.

The President shall establish a bipartisan Council of Governors to advise the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the White House Homeland Security Council on matters related to the National Guard and civil support missions.

The bottom line is that this bill authorizes the U.S. military to plan the integration of the military with civil authorities so they have a full fledged martial law apparatus to use in the event of any sort of catastrophic national emergency.

The information in this bill lines up with what was described in the Vision 2020 document which is a document released by USNORTHCOM which describes the goal of a future North American martial law apparatus. It also lines up with NSPD-51/HSPD-20 which gives the President authoritarian powers during a catastrophic emergency. One thing is for sure, these people would not be wasting their time putting this stuff down on paper unless they have plans to use it.